POLITICS CORNER

[plaques]

Kay Burley TV interview with Chris Philp(Chief Secretary to the Treasury.)

Boat people are still coming in at record numbers.

Yes but that's on one month figures Year on year there has been a 20% reduction..

.................

if this was true two years would see 40% reduction. another year and it's 60%. Why all the fuss about boat people?? and extra laws and deportations.

[Stanley]

Quite Ken..... Of course we all know that whatever assurances they give us it is one of the five pledges and like all the others is heading South.
See THIS BBC report.
MPs have backed a report that accused Boris Johnson's allies of running a co-ordinated campaign to interfere with a parliamentary inquiry into Partygate. The Privileges Committee accused 10 Tory politicians, including Nadine Dorries and Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg, of mounting "vociferous attacks" on its inquiry into Mr Johnson. The committee's report was approved by MPs without the need for a formal vote. Penny Mordaunt said the animosity between MPs had been "painful". The leader of the House of Commons said the report outlined an "exceptional situation" and described the criticisms levelled at the committee as beyond the usual "cut and thrust of politics".
It was worse than that it was a vicious attack on fellow members simply doing their job of protecting members As such it was also stupid. In my opinion they should all be sanctioned but that won't happen.
How comforting to hear President Biden say that the US relationship with the UK is 'rock solid'. (As long as we don't want anything......)

[Tripps]

I think this is an important item which is not getting much exposure. Pension fund "reform"

I'm no expert - but it is being spun as a "reform" whilst it is actually an increased risk for pension funds - but also an opportunity for Jeremy's hedge fund mates to make (another) fortune.

There's a reason pension funds have their investment options limited.

[Stanley]

I agree with you David. Peter and I have been railing against the general relaxing of rules round pension funds both public and private, for years. You don't need to be an expert to recognise blatant opportunism when you see it. The whole basis of pension funds is that they are boring but safe and as such are not attractive to the spivs who make the headlines. Those of us who are not greedy like them that way.....
See THIS for one of the most worrying signs so far of the unease within the more sober ranks of the Tory Party about Sunak's reforms of immigration policy.
Some senior Tory MPs have fiercely criticised the government's asylum reforms as ministers overturned changes made by the House of Lords. Former PM Theresa May was among more than a dozen Tories demanding changes to the Illegal Migration Bill. But their calls did not stop MPs voting to reject revisions peers had made to the bill in the Lords. The bill is central to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's pledge to stop small boats crossing the English Channel.
Contrast this list of high calibre Parliamentarians with the puerile contribution of Jenrick and make your own assessment of the relative quality of the contributions.
(In a Commons debate, Immigration Minister Robert Jenrick accused peers of "wrecking" the government's asylum reforms by trying to make amendments. Mr Jenrick said it was "vital" that the bill was passed quickly and described amendments made by the Lords as being "riddled with exceptions and get-out clauses".
I rest my case, the man is hysterical.
See THIS report on the level mortgages are running at and recognise that by the end of this week we will almost certainly have seen another base rate rise come out of the BofE. This is what the politicians should be concentrating on, it is generally agreed now that Sunak's halving of the rate and his pledge to grow the economy are in tatters.
We have all the makings of a political tragedy and in the end the taxpayers will get hit with the bill.
(And we are paying their wages....)

[Tripps]

Along the same lines - Paul Lewis (Radio 4 Money Box) said recently that the Government is seeking to remove Section 75 protection from purchases made on credit cards of over £100 . This makes the CC company jointly responsible for the deal.

I've seen nothing in the main stream as yet. I'd suggest that in real life - this is a lot more important to people than what a BBC presenter gets up to in his spare time, which is dominating the news.
* * * * * * * * * *

PS I thought this was a spoof but seems not - Refugee integration loan

[Stanley]

The immigrant loan..... I'm all for being welcoming to people fleeing destruction or oppressive regimes but giving them grants in periods of stringent economies like those we are seeing now seems a bit counter-productive as it will turn many UK citizens against the overall policy.
See THYIS for a case in point.
The government is considering pay increases of 6-6.5% for public sector workers, the BBC understands. Official pay review bodies for employees including teachers, junior doctors and police have recommended the pay rise. Inflation to May was 8.7%. A decision is expected be made as soon as Thursday with an announcement likely the same day. Government sources have told the BBC any rises over 3.5% would need to come out of existing departmental budgets.
The stinger is of course in the last line. 'existing budgets' don't have spare money in them so if the pay rise was granted, say by the NHS, other areas such as cutting waiting times would have to suffer and that would mean that the government could point to the greed of the workers when the waiting lists were next mentioned. This applies to all the public service claims.
I look at the rest of the main headlines in the politics news and they are overwhelmingly concerned mainly with internal Tory Party matters and not what I would call matters of state. Sunak not handing over early Johnson Whatsapp messages, Dorries threatening to use her 'platform' to find out why she was denied a peerage and Simon Case objecting to Tory members referring to the civil service as left wing and a 'blob'. We need governance not internal party spats!
And is it true that whilst so many are under the cosh because of low wages, high inflation and ever-increasing mortgage payments, Number Ten threw a hog roast party for Tory MPs?
(Yes it is, to urge his backbenchers to hold their nerve in the by-elections. (LINK))

[plaques]

In my 6 hour confinement in the triage department talk to a man from Blackburn where we went through the usual cascade of events of taking money out of peoples pockets. Spend less, shops close, suppliers shut down factories close. A downward spiral. But finally his point was the UK was allowing too much migrant labour. He worked in a big firm 800+ doing low skilled work and thought his job was on the line from cheap labour. His answer was to stop ALL immigration. So the Tories may not be too far away with the populist Stop the Boats if they can frighten ordinary people.

[Stanley]

And of course the man has a point Ken. But what do you do if you are the CEO of that company and your job depends on running at a profit and producing income for your investors? They are both victims of global competition and trade, in other words, the global Market. Gone are the days when there was room for give and take in commercial enterprises and old fashioned concepts like loyalty to long-serving staff could be observed. The problem isn't the fact that there are immigrants but the way we have allowed the world of employment and work to develop.
A good example of that development was the effect digitising skilled work had and the next one coming down the road is Artificial Intelligence. The chattering classes are arguing about the scale of the threat to jobs but there is little doubt that there will be an effect.
I've been looking at THIS BBC report on the pay offers. This was the bit that grabbed me....
Responding to Mr Sunak's announcement, Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: "By accepting the pay review body recommendations and then not funding them the government is putting its departments between a rock and hard place - they now have to choose between paying workers a half-decent salary or cutting services in already underfunded public services." TUC general secretary Paul Nowak said union members would take "comfort" from the fact that the prime minister had accepted the pay review bodies' recommendations. "The question will be - is he able to deliver pay rises in a way that won't have a negative impact on services. Our members will have a long look at that - they won't want to see Peter robbed to pay Paul. Mr Sunak said his offer was "final" and further industrial action would not change that decision, stressing: "There will be no more talks on pay. We will not negotiate again on this year's settlements and no amount of strikes will change our decision."
This is quite a clever move on Sunak's part. He has put the ball in the worker's court by ending negotiation. (Actually there has never been any meaningful negotiation on public service worker's pay, the ministers have been under instructions to refuse it.) If there is any deterioration in the quality of services because money has been diverted to wages from the normal budget the workers will be blamed for 'being greedy' when in fact any 'greed' is on the government's part as they have been neglecting to pay reasonable wage increases for inflation for the last 13 years under their policy of austerity.
See THIS for the latest stage in the ping-pong over the migration Bill.
The House of Lords has rejected an attempt by the government to extend the amount of time children can be detained in its migration bill. The government's Illegal Migration Bill removes the existing legal cap on how long children can be held before being deported for arriving illegally. But peers voted to reinsert protections more in line with current legislation. They also voted to reinstate protections for people claiming to be victims of trafficking. Ministers suffered a series of defeats on the Illegal Migration Bill on Wednesday evening. Each vote added back in provisions which had been removed by MPs in votes in the House of Commons on Tuesday.
Of course the Commons always 'wins' but the hope is that the friction generated in the ranks of backbenchers might lead to voluntary easing of the measures in the Bill by the government.

[PanBiker]

I received an email this morning from one of the awkward organisations I subscribe to. Apparently Liz Truss can create four new peers, one for every 10 days that she was in office! Now if that doesn't show how rotten the system is I don't know what does. There are agree or disagree or don't know links to follow, if you object and hit the no button it takes you to a survey which asks more questions about the second chamber and how it works. Fortunately there is also a cut to the chase text box where you can type anything you want. I used this option.

[Stanley]

THIS caught my eye this morning. I knew about the people off grid who had missed getting support payments but didn't realise it was this bad.
A scheme designed to help people who missed out on last winter's £400 energy bill subsidy was a "staggering failure", a senior MP has said. The Energy Bill Support Scheme Alternative Funding was set up for households who do not have an energy supplier, such as those in park homes. Nearly a million households could apply but only a fraction received the money. MP Angus MacNeil said the government should reopen the scheme, saying it had "missed the most vulnerable". The government said it had spent more than £50m supporting 130,000 households without a domestic energy supplier.
On the surface the problems look as though they are down to simple maladministration....

[plaques]

The saga of Boris's WhatsApp phone.
Boris made a big play of offering his WhatsApp phone to the Covid enquiry committee, it had been locked away since his phone number was an open secret. The general opinion was that some of the details may be an embarrassment to Sunak. The Cabinet Office said 'NO' Baroness Hallett can't have it. The court said yes she can. Then came the excuses. It can't be opened because of the security risk. Yes, it can in a secure area, it would be no problem. Boris I've forgotten the opening code. No problem give i-phone the authority to pass the code to us and we'll open it. No need the Cabinet Office have a copy of the code. The all clear looks set to go unless Boris comes up with another delaying excuse.

Compare this with all the government shenanigans on the NHS and public service pay and its all the same pattern.

[Stanley]

I do believe you're right Ken. I hadn't thought of that.... (To the pure all things are pure). I should have credited him with being that devious!

[Stanley]

See THIS for a BBC report on Ben Wallace.
Ben Wallace says he will step down as defence secretary at the next Cabinet reshuffle after four years in the job. He told the Sunday Times he would not stand at the next general election, but ruled out leaving "prematurely" and triggering a by-election. Mr Wallace has served as defence secretary under three prime ministers and has played a high-profile role in the UK's response to the Ukraine war. Sources told the BBC they expect the next reshuffle in September. Rishi Sunak is reportedly planning to shake up his top team, but no date has been confirmed. Mr Wallace said he was quitting frontline politics due to the toll it had taken on his family, and allies of his have said the decision was not a reflection on Mr Sunak's leadership. His Wyre and Preston North constituency is set to disappear at the next election under upcoming boundary changes and he told the newspaper he would not seek a new one. The 53-year-old's confirmation of his plans to the Sunday Times comes after days of speculation that he was considering leaving government. Last week, the prime minister disowned comments from Mr Wallace in which he suggested Ukraine should show more "gratitude" for the military support it has been given.
I'm not too sure what is going on here. I heard someone describe Sunak's hog roast for his MPs as an attempt to lighten the dour mood in the Party in view of recent events and the upcoming by-elections not doing anything to cheer up members who are looking ahead to the next General Election and fearing a blood bath. Now we have a serving minister and at one time prospective candidate for leadership projecting a less than confident view of politics.
Of course this is a reflection on Sunak's leadership and it will only get worse as he sees his five pledges all
failing.
Looking at the by-elections next Thursday I can't see anything but total disaster for the Tories and similar results in the others that will come up. Does this mean automatic victory for Labour in next years General Election? It should make all us old social democrats happy and optimistic but I am afraid I can't join in. I have this awful feeling that once more, the 'most successful political Party in Europe' will escape disaster by the skin of its teeth. For my money Starmer has not fired anyone up, he is too bland and uncontroversial. The Unions share my fear I think. It is getting to be too late to change leaders and I fear the worst.

[Tripps]

I can't see anything but total disaster for the Tories

Let us sincerely hope so. . .

Regarding Ben Wallace - He can't run NATO so he's off. Typifies the short termism problem which exists throughout modern British politucs.

They say he's been the longest serving Tory Defence Secretary ( four years) . I've not seen his tenure examined, but read recently about great problems (not least of which is recruitment) in all three services. Looks as if not one of them is currently fit for purpose.

Not a good epitaph.

[plaques]

I'm not qualified to comment on his overall performance since there are too many other factions pulling at the purse strings. What I have seen of his interviews he gives a good presentation and is not drawn away from the subject under discussion. For this I would give him full marks.
It has been suggested that as a cabinet member he would have been bared from any lobbying work until his garden leave period had expired. To sit the period out as a backbencher would still put him in pole position for lobbying work should the general election go against the Conservatives.

[Tripps]

I heard someone describe Sunak's hog roast for his MPs as an attempt to lighten the dour mood in the Party

I think the choice of menu could be seen as discriminatory at best, and racist at worst. I trust there was a Halal, a Kosher, and a vegan option on offer.

The man has just gone up a notch in my estimation.

I like HIndu attitudes - the wife of a Hindu doctor that we knew explained to me after serving us all with a beef curry, that her husband only considered Indian cows to be sacred, and it didn't really apply in Manchester.

[Stanley]

" I like Hindu attitudes - the wife of a Hindu doctor that we knew explained to me after serving us all with a beef curry, that her husband only considered Indian cows to be sacred, and it didn't really apply in Manchester."
My dad reckoned his religion was Hindu after having his life saved by a Hindu priest somewhere in the Caribbean. When he went into hospital with his terminal illness he stated his religion as Hindu. I told them not to take it too seriously but when he was at death's door they found a Hindu priest and brought him in to sit with father.....
See THIS report about proposed changes to the university courses.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has pledged to crack down on "rip-off" degrees that do not lead to graduate jobs. Under plans due to be announced later, universities in England will be forced to limit the number of students they recruit onto underperforming courses. But Labour said the move would "put up fresh barriers to opportunity in areas with fewer graduate jobs". Universities UK, an advocacy group, said university was a great investment for the vast majority of students. A spokeswoman for the organisation warned any measures must be "targeted and proportionate, and not a sledgehammer to crack a nut".
It seems to me that this is a perfect example of what Oscar Wilde was talking about when he spoke of 'Knowing the price of everything but the value of nothing'.
Under the plans, independent regulator the Office for Students (OfS) will be asked to limit the number of students that universities can recruit to courses that do not have "good outcomes" for students. The government said this would include courses that have high drop-out rates or have a low proportion of students going on to professional jobs.
There is nothing new about this Philistine attitude to those who seek knowledge in esoteric fields that might not have a 'practical' outcome. They are, broadly speaking, the Humanities. It's worth noting that he CEO of Boots when it was a family firm, Jesse Boots, did his degree at Nottingham in Modern History and he was quite clear that the value of a university course didn't lie in the knowledge that was gained but the training of the mind to collect, collate, Analyse and report. It would appear that Mr Sunak doesn't share this view and note that he talks about "forcing universities to limit the number of students they recruit on to 'under-performing' courses". This means the extinction of some of the more esoteric subjects.
In my first year at Lancaster I lived on a corridor full of third year accountancy students and one in his final year of Ancient Archaeology. When the time came for job-seeking the only one who got a job was the archaeologist and he got a job as a trainee accountant. His future boss told him he wanted someone who could use his head and wasn't filled up with 'fancy' ideas about accounting. He said he'd train him how to do the sums. The lad was not popular with his final year mates.
I think that Sunak is trying to give the impression that he and this government are doing something. The facts we see in the real world suggest that this is another Tory Lie. At the moment the count of MPs not seeking election at the next Parliament is 47, they are voting with their feet. How will that look after Thursday?

[Stanley]

See THIS for the official verdict on yet another of Johnson's promises, hospital building.
The government is likely to miss its target to build 40 new hospitals by 2030, the spending watchdog has said. The National Audit Office (NAO) said in a report that the project had been beset by delays. It also warned that cost-cutting and inaccurate modelling of future demand could mean new hospitals are too small. The health department remained "firmly committed" to delivering the England building pledge, a spokesperson said. But Labour called the report "damning".
Read the article for the full details, we don't need to speculate any more. The policy is and always was a fake.
On the face of it THIS ruling after the Lords vote looks like good news for Sunak and Braverman.
The Illegal Migration Bill is set to become law after the government won a final series of votes in the Lords. The bill is central to the prime minister's pledge to stop small boats crossing the English Channel. Amendments by peers including time limits on child detention and modern slavery protections were defeated. In a late-night debate in the House of Lords, the last of the proposed changes was voted down. Now the bill can go for royal assent.
However, the Rwanda scheme is still under consideration by the courts and many in the Tory Party are uneasy about this policy. Sunak and Braverman are not yet out of the wood and his promise to 'Stop the Boats' is not nearer to fulfilment.

[Stanley]

I'm puzzled this morning by the news I heard that the United Nations has given an opinion that the new act to reinforce our borders is illegal. I can find no report of this in the news.
Britain's Illegal Migration Bill, aimed at stopping thousands of irregular migrants arriving, is at odds with international law and sets a worrying precedent, the United Nations warned Tuesday. The UN said it could have a deep global impact on the international refugee protection system. The bill, which has been passed by parliament and awaits being signed into law by King Charles III, means irregular migrants arriving by boat will be refused the right to apply for asylum in the UK. The UN human rights chief Volker Turk and the UN refugees head Filippo Grandi said the bill "is at variance with the country's obligations under international human rights and refugee law and will have profound consequences for people in need of international protection". In a joint statement they said the bill creates sweeping new detention powers with limited judicial oversight.
So, it would appear that we have a government that is quite happy breaking international law. I have always been under the impression that this was impossible. It would appear that things have changed....
Also see THIS BBC report of a speech made by Suella Braverman yesterday in Westminster Hall in which she warns of increased risk of terrorism. I note that one group of people who may qualify as terrorists are activists from the INCEL movement. (LINK) I have heard of this and it confirms my opinion that the world is going mad.
I have this theory that Braverman is looking for another hare-brained project to divert attention from our borders which are going to get more and more of a problem as the Tory strategies fail to 'stop the boats'.

[plaques]

Rishi Sunak is yesterday's man. His poll rating now down to minus 40.

The PM hopefuls are lining up ready to make their charge. Braverman is leading the field with a pig push to break international law and finding a place to dock Stockholm Biddy.

The usual suspects are also jockeying for position ready to take pole position when he eventually falls
Liz Truss,
Penny Mordaunt,
Jeremy Hunt,
Tom Tugendhat,
Kemi Badenoch,

Dr Liam Fox has also entered the race with over two furlongs to go.

Meanwhile we shall here lots of promises, Brexit benefits and dodgy statistics with each contestant trying to out bid the other.. All the normal government business will put on the back burner as we watch the UK sink below the waves.


“The legitimate object of government is 'to do for the people what needs to be done, but which they can not, by individual effort, do at all, or do so well, for themselves'.” Abraham Lincoln

[Stanley]

I believe you Ken. See THIS for today's anodyne announcement that can't possibly make anything worse.
Rishi Sunak has apologised for the historical treatment of LGBT veterans who were sacked or forced out of the military for being gay. The PM called the ban an "appalling failure" of the British state. It was illegal to be gay in the British military until 2000 - with thousands of veterans thought to be affected. A report into their treatment recommended they be given a financial reward and that the PM publicly apologise. Addressing MPs, the prime minister said: "Many endured the most horrific sexual abuse and violence, homophobic bullying and harassment all while bravely serving this country."
I suspect that what is on his mind is something which he doesn't mention, three by-elections.
The thought that occurred to me was why can't we have as strongly worded a statement about yesterday's report of the children having to wait up to 18 months for emergency treatment for dental problems giving them toothache. I equate toothache with earache and my daughters were martyrs to the latter, I know how miserable it can be. They are at least as important as the LGBT community. (And I suspect that they would agree!)
On the by-elections.... I was talking to a local Liberal councillor who went to the West Country for his summer break and campaigned for his Party. He said the impression he got was that the Tories are toast in Frome.
This is in Chris Mason's BBC report on today's elections.
Why would you go out and vote for us, right now? What is the incentive? The incentive is to give us a kicking, because these contests aren't about picking a government," one minister tells me. Another Tory figure is even more blunt. Of course we are going to lose. In one it is about lies. The other about drugs. And the third about not getting a peerage. How do you defend any of that?" They are referring to the former MPs Boris Johnson, David Warburton and Nigel Adams respectively.
Going back to Ken's opinion about Sunak, It's possible he can lose three by-elections today and another two in the near future. There could be consequences......

[Stanley]

See THIS BBC report on the three by-elections.
Labour have taken Selby, Liberals have Somerton (David Whipp's report was accurate, and the Tories have held Uxbridge by a wafer thin margin.
Labour has won the Selby and Ainsty by-election, overturning a majority of 20,137 votes - the biggest ever by-election swing to the party. Keir Mather becomes the youngest MP currently in the House of Commons, at 25 years old. It comes after the Liberal Democrats won the Somerton and Frome by-election by more than 11,000 votes
Party leader Sir Ed Davey said the party was "firmly back" in the West Country after Sarah Dyke overturned a majority of 19,000 votes. But the Conservatives narrowly held off Labour in Boris Johnson's former Uxbridge and South Ruislip constituency by 495 votes after a recount. Labour had hoped to win the seat but blamed the loss on the expansion of the Ultra Low Emissions Zone in the capital under London Mayor Sadiq Khan
Also see THIS BBC report that the disgraced MP Pincher is appealing his guilty verdict. I suppose he gets paid longer.... It's almost certain he will lose and this will trigger yet another by-election.
MP Chris Pincher is appealing against a proposed eight-week suspension from the House of Commons for groping two men at a London club last year. In its report, Parliament's conduct watchdog said the former Conservative deputy chief whip's behaviour amounted to an "abuse of power". MPs had been due to vote on whether to approve the eight-week punishment. However, this will not take place until the appeal of Mr Pincher - who now sits as an independent MP - is complete.
Note that Tom Scholar has got a £335k compensation after being fired by Liz Truss and Tobias Ellwood has been forced to withdraw his claim that Afghanistan is doing fine under the Taliban......
You might well ask where is the actual politics? An article in Private Eye this week says that the Speaker is having a job finding enough business to keep the Commons functioning. This is a zombie Parliament.
Listening to the comment it becomes obvious (to me anyway) that the reason for the slip up in Uxbridge is that Starmer allowed the new ultra low level area to go ahead forgetting that that is a cost of living issue and that was what allowed th Tories to slip in by a whisker.

[Tripps]

Labour has won the Selby and Ainsty by-election, overturning a majority of 20,137 votes - the biggest ever by-election swing to the party. Keir Mather becomes the youngest MP currently in the House of Commons, at 25 years old.

I just looked him up. Looks (and sounds) like 25 going on 18. Named after Keir Hardie and never seems to have had a proper job since university.

"Mather worked as a public affairs adviser for the Confederation of British Industry for 18 months before entering Parliament and was a parliamentary researcher for Wes Streeting from 2019 to 2020."

Join the dots - it's not difficult. Groomed to be an MP looks likely.

Most importantly seems it's pronounced "Mayther" which is quite difficult to grasp for those of us who have Mather and Platts of Newton Heath engraved on our brains.

[Stanley]

Three by-elections and three different interpretations of the results by 3 party leaders, all of them partial and biased. Cue the political chattering classes. I'm sorry to say that my only reaction is to wish with all my heart for change, not only in government but in Labour Party leader. Starmer simply isn't convincing.
My trouble is I have heard voices like Nye Bevan, Ernie Bevin and Clem Atlee, all convincing in their own way. Something is missing in politics today. I shall stop complaining and go away....
(On the subject of how to pronounce Mather. I agree David. And then there were the Mathers who who were greengrocers and hired out horses and carts to local traders in Stockport circa 1940.)

[Stanley]

I've been listening to the reactions of the politicians to the shock of Uxbridge. The consensus in the Tory Party is that green measures should be ditched as it was opposition to the Labour Mayor's Ultra Low Emission Zone that save their bacon. Starmer on the other hand is being mobbed by his backbenchers who want him to order the mayor to hold off on the zone as it is spoiling their election hopes.
Both are quite open to ditching Green Policies in a week when we see incontrovertible evidence that the climate is worsening faster than was thought. Long term necessary policies ditched for short term gain like an election.....
Why should we be surprised?